The first SMS of the day this morning was a brief intimation that Anil Kumble would announce his retirement from one-day internationals this evening at the KSCA so that he can concentrate on Test match cricket.

Coincidentally, last night on television, there was a fascinating discussion on ‘Extraa Innings’ featuring Ian Chappell, John Wright and Charu Sharma on the plight of spin bowling in the so-called land of spin: India.

The 2007 World Cup has been a showcase for top-class tweakers: Muttiah Muralidharan, Brad Hogg, and Daniel Vettori have all demonstratedtheir wile and guile that should put Kumble and Harbhajan Singh to shame.

What’s happened to Indian spin, was Charu Sharma’s question, as Chappell repeated his oft-repeated story of E.A.S. Prasanna bowling as if he had a string attached to it which he pulled back as the batsman advanced forward. And how Vettori was outfoxing batsmen with his slower ball not just by holding the ball differently, but by bending his back knee at the point of delivery.

So, who killed genuine Indian spin bowling? We are not talking of spinners who could turn the ball by a mile like Shane Warne, or who could turn it on a glass top like Murali. We are talking of spinners who could outthink batsmen through flight, loop, pace, turn, tactics.

The usual answer which everybody trots out is too much one-day cricket: but haven’t Murali & Co been playing that? The other answer is heavier, better bats, which enable batsmen to bludgeon slow bowlers and ensure that even mis-hits sail into the stands: but haven’t Murali & Co….

Wright, who was coach of the Indian team during its glory days under Saurav Ganguly, had an interesting explanation. He said whenever they landed at an Indian venue for a one-day match, Kumble and Harbhajan would often ask him to get the ropes moved out!

Reason: organisers would have made the boundaries shorter to accommodate the advertising hoardings and those triangular pieces which now serve as the boundary. And to ensure that there was a rain of fours and sixes to keep the crowds in the stands happy!

So, who killed spin bowling? The board which doesn’t know the balance betwen bat and ball? Captains who didn’t know how to treat spinners? Safety-first spinners whose only objective was to keep the runs down and keep their place in the side? Or, selectors who couldn’t pick the real talents?

The numbers, records and feats speak for Anil Kumble. His grit, humility and workmanlike attitude speak for Anil Kumble. And this evening, his teammates and friends will speak eloquently for him. But did Kumble motivate young people to take up spin bowling?

18 comments

I dont think his bowling will be missed that much…one of the greatest attributes that props a spinner is the aura/legend that gets built around him…look at EAS, Bedi, Chandra, Warne, Lock, Murali; unfortunately the same hasnt happened with Kumble , I am not judging his credentials but its more abt the longetivity of his contribution to the game of cricket.

500+ wickets in Test Cricket, 350+ in one day and he won’t be missed??!!!

Bowling on all kinds of surfaces, in all kinds of conditions, with little support from the other end, and he won’t be missed??!!

Bowling with a broken jaw with a bandage around his face grimacing in pain after every ball, and he won’t be missed??!!

Of course his batting fell away, and he was ineptitude personified while fielding, but what he could do, by God few could. To be able to use googlies, quicker ones, the flipper, top spinners, the odd leg spinner on foreign surfaces as much Indian ones, without a couple of spinners of quality backing him…. he will be more than just ‘missed’.

He will still play a year or so in test cricket, but to say he will not be missed is to spite the talent and commitment of a man who has relentlessly slogged away for his country with far less recognition than his less talented and less committed peers kept getting for their ‘efforts’.

Surely he deserves better acknowledgement from his fans at least. Take a bow Anil-annavare, you have been a great servant of Indian, and lest we forget, Karnataka cricket. We will not see the likes of you for a generation at least.

Anil Kumble is a great fighter. He is one of best spin (or slow) bowlers that India has seen. It was a real pity that inspite of taking him into the WC side he was played in only one that and that also against Bermuda. I think the Captain & Coach had ‘other’ plans. Why pick a player of such repute and keep him out during crucial matches. Anil Kumble has still somethings to contribute and the current move should prolong his career. All the best !!

Kumble was no guileless automaton. He was a fox in wolf’s clothing. His guile was situational, contextual rather than visual. He had a very good read of situations. His bowling showed that there is more to bowling than the brawn and wizardry.

His own development is similar to that of Bruce Lee’s. Both thought through their skills. Both neither fit nor believed in labels.
It didn’t come naturally to him. His is a developed skill. And he developed it with great application, with great persistence, and to great effect. He is also a pioneer in that he prolly had no examples or gurus on his interpretation of bowling.

Believe you me there were at least 2 untalented kids in small town Karnataka, whose entire understanding of the science of bowling changed from juvenile speed & turn calculations to one of cerebral contextual bowling. One of them now spins numbers and strategies while the other spins inane stories. But back in small town KA, while the duo lost the girls to fast bowlers, they did manage to win quite a few fiercely fought matches playing for a team of an all non-star but dedicated players.

Kumble showed that you don’t have to be a star to shine. And that I believe is the highest ideal of sport.

with wizards like murali, warne, ‘kar, inzy et al., the picture gets skewed. the focus is on ‘how’ rather than ‘what’. with kumble the focus is completely on what. sort of like UG-esque unguru. in that way a great role model.
(all this ofcourse for your average impressionable kid taking up bowling)

i have heard horror stories of coaches looking for kids with deformed hands.
it is meaningless for one to try to rotate his wrists like warne or bowl ‘like’ him.

ofcourse… all this comes with the standard disclaimer that m,w,t,i are all geniuses and belong in the garbhaguDi.

I just watched Kumble announce his retirement on television, and I was blown away by the grace, the dignity, and the decency of the man. No rancour, no illwill, no great emotion—just a plain statement of mission accomplished. I think that more or less sums up the whole issue. He was a quiet Kannadiga achiever, with none of the theatrics of the Punjabis. If this much had been achieved by a Bombay bowler, then the Maratha press would have paved Marine Drive with unctuous praise. Here, on the other hand, we are wondering whether he will be missed!
Most critics cannot seem to get over the fact that he did all this without spinning the ball. But as Kumble himself once said with unbelievable honesty, there were hundred of bowlers who spun the ball, flighted the ball, and bowled better than him. It was just that he was slightly more dedicated and focused than them. Touche.

He is the BEST . We have/had some great cricketers from karnataka
E.A.S , G.R , Chandra , Kumble,Srinath,Prasad and Dravid . None of them
had any arrogance on/off field . They were all down to earth and pillars of humility .Thats what has to be admired and emulated as true kannadigas.
Kumble never spun the Ball ..so what ? atleast he was effective in taking wickets and win matches for India and was consistent in doing that .

ravi,
not to digress too much.
i can only give unparliamentary analogies to make murali’s case. so i’ll refrain.

deformed elbow or not. murali is a genuine talent.
its not like he gets wicket every ball he bowls and not that he has full control over every ball he bowls. he has to make the ball do what he wants to do and even then to earn a wicket, he has to know what he should want to do.

with reference to our team, we want them to stay united. what about us fans? should we not have the decency to support one of our own (as in indian), whether or not he belongs to our state? i wonder whether any australian asks similar questions about warne, or whether any sri lankan question murali’s bowling action!

In my opinion the greatest attribute of this ‘Smiling Assasin’ was his character. He would never give up come what may and was always ready to play without any complaints. He was a true fighter with great determination and never say die spirit. His celebration on getting each wicket personified his personality and the respect he had for the opposition irrespective whether he is a great batsmen or a tailender. One incident that comes to my mind is bowling against west indies with a broken jaw and getting the wicket of Lara with a beauty. I think that this episode alone shows the fighting characters of this great human being.
He has been a typical kannadiga in being very humble, soft and non-aggresive. He has been a role model both in his personal life and as well in his professional life.
He has been humilialted by Saurav on various occasions (eg. west indies tour in 2002, world cup 2003) but has never complained and allowed his performance to talk.
And lastly who can forget his 10-wicket haul. I think this performance symbolises his greatness and will be tough to equal by other great bowlers.
We will all miss Kumble the bowler and Kumble the human

As a supporter of a few of India’s rival teams I have great respect for Kumble. He never really turned the ball a long way but his use of finding awkward bounce and varying pace made him an absolute legend and a very underrated bowler. It seems when it comes to spin people only want to celebrate the big spinners, but bounce and change of pace more often than spin is what gets batsman out. I feared him bowling as he would wear the batsman down and in this fear I learnt a great respect for him. I will actually miss him even though I will not miss him getting wickets against my team. He was a joy to watch and definitely a character who was a positive for the game beyond just his cricketing ability. He to me is the picture of what Indian cricket should try to recapture, not just ability but character beyond the spoils of the game. Kumble from a rival supporter I will bow to you! Feel free to retire before you play my team again……